Kennedy fires back with defamation suit

Dec. 20, 2008

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Andy Kennedy is not the man he's being made out to be, according to Richard Katz, the longtime private counsel for the former University of Cincinnati basketball coach.

Katz wants the public to know that Kennedy, now at the University of Mississippi, is not a racist, he is not a drunk and he is not a bad man.

And he's doing this with a lawsuit.

A defamation-of-character suit was filed Friday against Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou, a cab driver, and Michael Strother, a valet. The suit asks for in excess of $25,000 from each.

The suit stems from an incident downtown about 1 a.m. Thursday. Cincinnati police said William Armstrong, 31, Ole Miss' director of operations, was thrown out of the Lodge Bar downtown. Kennedy hailed a cab, but when Jiddou refused to take Kennedy's entire group in his cab, Kennedy punched him while calling him names and using racial slurs, a police report said. Strother witnessed the incident and made statements to police.

Kennedy was charged with misdemeanor assault. Armstrong was charged with disorderly conduct.

Katz said Friday that the statements made by Jiddou and Strother might damage Kennedy's career forever.

"As an athlete or a coach, if you're in this business and something happens, whether you're innocent or guilty, it's with you for the rest of your career," he said. "We don't want this to happen. We want this to be over and then throw the baggage in the river."

Katz claims the two have been making statements to the police and media that change with each telling.

"We've looked at everything that's been said, the allegations that've been made. Between the cabbie and the valet guy, there have been six or seven statements made," he said. "I don't believe two of them are consistent."

Rusty O'Brien, attorney for Jiddou, said the lawsuit is ridiculous.

"Any basketball coach knows that the best defense is a good offense," O'Brien said. "The guy's back is up against the wall because he got caught red-handed, so he's coming out with his guns blazing."

Jiddou's statements have been the truth, and that is the best defense against slander, O'Brien said.

Kennedy, head basketball coach at Ole Miss, was in town for the SEC/Big East Invitational.